


Blind

by coldfiredragon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Bisexual Character, Canon Gay Character, Gryffindor Kady, Gryffindor Penny, Hufflepuff Quentin, M/M, Magicians in the Harry potter universe, Ravenclaw Alice, Ravenclaw Julia, Slytherin Eliot, Slytherin Margo, The Magicians/Harry Potter fusion, canon character depression, everyone is in the same year, it was easier that way, lots of language, these kids have issues, typical slytherin bitchiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-04 05:00:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11547990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coldfiredragon/pseuds/coldfiredragon
Summary: Eliot and Quentin are a relationship waiting to happen, but they've been best friends for so long they can't see the relationship waiting in the wings.





	Blind

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the world of Magicians/Harry Potter fusion. This fic was a labor of love! A mix of 2 of my most favorite fandoms. Just a note or two before we get started.
> 
> Everyone is 15, all of them met on the Hogwarts Express their first year, and then they all got sorted into different houses. For sake of plot they stayed friends despite that division. 
> 
> Here there be angst! You were warned.
> 
> I will edit this once I'm home for work, but I wanted to get it posted for the Welters crossover challenge. 
> 
> Enjoy!

“Alice just tell me who I'm supposed to meet,” Quentin whined as the fifth year Ravenclaw escorted him towards the entrance of The Three Broomsticks. 

“It wouldn't be a blind date if I told you who you were meeting.” Alice insisted as she pulled open the pub's heavy door. She held it for him, and when Quentin didn't immediately move to cross the threshold, she cast a glare in his direction. “Come on, Q. I'm supposed to meet Julia and Margo for tea in ten minutes.”

“You aren't staying?” Quentin's face fell as he glanced inside at the bustling crowd. The tables were rapidly filling with clusters of Hogwarts students and the thought of waiting alone, for an unknown date made anxiety build in Quentin's chest.

“Of course I'm not staying.” Alice huffed like it should be one of the most obvious things in the world. “What kind of date would it be if I tagged along?”

“Can't you at least stay until he shows up?” Quentin asked as they stepped into the door frame. Alice let the door rest against her back and Quentin's shoulders slumped a little as her arms crossed over her chest. He knew that no nonsense pose. “Fine.” He muttered sullenly. 

“You'll have a good time, Q. Trust me!” She promised. “Just go order a butterbeer and wait at the bar. He'll be here in a few minutes.” Quentin continued to hesitate, and her face softened a little. “You can do this, Q. I know you're nervous, but everything will be fine.” 

“You can't guarantee that,” Quentin complained. “Come on, please, Julia and Margo won't care if you're a couple of minutes late.” He frowned in defeat as the blond haired girl shook her head.

“Relax.” She soothed. “And have fun!” She ordered, almost too brightly, as she pushed backward against the door and stepped back outside. She waved and took off. The pub door fell closed behind her and Quentin shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked to the bar. He ordered a butterbeer like Alice had suggested and drank a third of it before finding a bar stool to sit on while he waited. 

\--------------------------------------------------

“I'm meeting Alice and Julia for tea.” Margo reminded him as they walked arm in arm from the castle towards town. 

“I know,” Eliot confirmed. It was at least the fourth time his best friend had reminded him of her tea time that morning. Eliot was starting to wonder what exactly she was hiding from him. “Shouldn't I at least get a hint about who I'm meeting?” He asked as he twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. 

“Nope.” 

“Come on, Margo, just a teensy hint?” Eliot held up his fingers with the tiniest space he could leave between them. 

“Nope.” 

“You are a cruel and heartless bitch, Bambi.” He complained lightly. Margo giggled, and Eliot smiled down at her. The petite girl pressed against his side had become like a sister to him since he'd met her on the train at the beginning of their first year. 

“I wouldn't set you up with someone I didn't think you would like.” She assured him as they reached the outskirts of Hogsmeade.

“Uh huh.” 

“Just go, and have fun. I'll meet you back in the common room later tonight, and you can tell me all about it.” They walked farther into town until Margo slipped out from under his arm so she could meet the girls at Madam Puddifoot's. Eliot watched her go, then sighed in frustration and headed towards the Three Broomsticks. He hated blind dates. There were only a handful of guys in the whole castle he was interested in dating, and even fewer who were gay or bi. 

Too quickly the bustling pub loomed in front of him. Eliot took a moment to stamp the mud off his boots, then took a breath to steady his nerves, and pushed the door open. The inside of the pub was warm and smokey and buzzing with Hogwarts students. Eliot's eyes scanned the crowd for anyone who appeared to be waiting for someone else. He spotted Quentin immediately and made his way over to the other boy. If he had to wait, then there was no reason to wait alone. 

“Hey, Q.” For a brief moment, he wondered why Quentin was in the tavern alone, before remembering that all the girls they frequently hung out with were having a girls only tea date and salon day. Eliot could practically feel the anxiety radiating off his friend, and he reached to run his hand down Quentin's back. He knew that would calm him down. 

“El.” Quentin's face brightened at the sight of him. Muscle relaxed under Eliot's hand. “Can you not leave me? Please? Alice wouldn't wait, she's meeting Julia and Margo, and she just left me here.” Eliot watched Quentin's knee bounce uncontrollably as he babbled. 

“Left you here to do what?” He asked as he flicked his wand at a nearby stool so he could drag it closer. He brought it close enough, so his knee and Quentin's knee were touching once he was sitting on it. Quentin's face flushed in embarrassment and he leaned forward so his hair would hide his face. 

“She um, well she, uh set me up with somebody, and wouldn't tell me who. Can you wait with me until my date shows up?” Eliot felt like a vice was squeezing his heart. In the same instance, he realized what the girls had tried to do and that Quentin saw him as too much of a friend to realize he was supposed to be the date. Eliot considered telling him the truth, but he didn't want to see Quentin's face fall when he realized that his 'date' was someone he wasn't romantically interested in.

“Sure.” Eliot shrugged like it was nothing, and buried the latest disappointment with all the others “I'll wait, and if he doesn't show up I'll spend the day with you.” 

“You think he might not come?” Quentin's brown eyes snapped up to look at him in alarm, and Eliot silently started debating what curses he could use to hex Alice and Margo. Quentin hadn't deserved to have his emotions toyed with like this. They should have known better. 

“If he doesn't show up then fuck him. He doesn't deserve you anyway.” Quentin blushed a little at the praise. Eliot flagged the barman and ordered a butterbeer for himself and a refill for Quentin. The next twenty minutes were the worst he'd ever spent in Quentin's presence. 

The other boy kept glancing at the door and a tight knot of heavy despair built in Eliot's stomach as Quentin looked more and more disappointed. He'd hoped that after a few minutes a light bulb would go off and Quentin would realize what was supposed to have happened. It felt too late to tell him the truth now though because Quentin would think it had all been a joke from the beginning. Eliot didn't want the other boy to be both angry and disappointed. 

“I guess you were right.” Quentin finally admitted. He looked crushed, and Eliot hated himself. 

“I'm sorry, Q. I really am.” Eliot finished his drink and hopped off his stool. “Come on, forget this. Let's go to Honeydukes and Spinwitches that'll cheer you up.” Quentin shrugged, but slipped off his seat and straightened his hoodie.

“Thanks, El. I appreciate you waiting with me, but you don't have to entertain me all day.” 

“Come on. I want to! You're one of my best friends. I hate when you're unhappy.” Eliot raised his arm and wrapped it around Quentin when the other boy pressed against his side. They left the pub together and walked the short distance to the candy shop. Quentin's mood gradually lifted as the afternoon progressed, but Eliot was pretty sure Quentin was just doing his best to hide the melancholy.

As the deadline to return to the school neared they walked back to the castle together and split to go to their separate common rooms. Eliot watched Quentin disappear towards the kitchens and waited for his friend to be out of sight before he let his shoulders slump. He was going to let Margo have it, he was. This hadn't been fair to either of them. 

He walked towards the dungeons in silence and whispered the password to get into the common room. The heavy air of the underground room made his shoulders dip further. A fire crackled in the hearth, and a group of older boys were clustered around it in high backed chairs. The fire light caught the side of a silver flask as it got passed back and forth and Eliot went to join them. 

“Hey, Eliot,” Mike smirked at him as he dropped down in front of the blond's chair. Mike's hand reached to card through the loose curls, and Eliot leaned into the touch. “Do you want a sip or two of this?” Mike asked as the flask reached him. Eliot shrugged, then nodded. He expected wine, and almost choked when it was fire whiskey instead. There were a few aborted snorts of laughter 

“You okay, pretty boy?” One of the seventh years asked as Eliot passed the flask to the next guy. Eliot glared at him. 

“I didn't know it was whiskey.” He replied in the most haughty tone he could manage. The flask came around again, and Eliot managed to down his second sip without a problem. He got one more swallow after that before it was gone. The group broke apart when there was nothing more to drink, and Mike started to play with Eliot's hair

“So what's wrong with you?” He asked as his fingers curled through the locks. 

“Nothing.” Eliot lied, unconvincingly. 

“El, come on. You have been on my Quidditch team since I made you our seeker. We dated for months. I know you...” He gestured vaguely at Eliot's face. “This isn't nothing.” Eliot nodded as he crawled up into Mike's lap. He managed to get one good kiss in before Mike was gently pushing him back. “El...”

“Let's go back to your dorm.” Eliot purred. 

“Not until you tell me what happened today.”

“Margo tried to set me up. It didn't go well. I'm pissed off at her, and I don't want to sleep alone tonight.” Eliot stated bluntly. He leaned in to press his mouth against Mike's again and made a pleased noise when Mike kissed back.

“Good enough.” Mike murmured as the kiss broke. “You need to get off me, you've gotten too tall to pick up and carry.” 

\---------------------------------

Margo let herself into the Slytherin common room and glanced up and down the long space as she searched for her best friend. She had seen Quentin and Eliot together from a distance all afternoon, and she was excited to see how her friends' first date had gone. Eliot had liked Quentin since their second year, and she'd recently learned from Alice and Julia that the feeling was mutual on Quentin's end. They had to have enjoyed themselves.

A frown deepened on her features when she didn't spot Eliot's mop of unruly curls. She swept the common room more thoroughly, then marched towards the nearest group of students. Margo slipped her wand from her sleeve. 

“Have any of you losers seen Eliot?” She demanded. The girls shook their heads, but one of the seventh year boys, drunk, if she guessed correctly, hook his thumb towards the dorms. 

“He came back from Hogsmeade in a mood and was all over Mike. They headed back to, I dunno to who's room, like twenty, twenty-five minutes ago.” Margo's jaw dropped in disbelief, and her teeth clicked hard as she snapped it back shut. 

“What the fuck!” She ranted as she headed for the passage leading to the boy's dorms. She checked Eliot's room first, then headed further down the hall towards the seventh year dorm. It was shut and locked, and her fist bounced uselessly against what felt like inches of soft, flexible jelly when she tried to pound on it. She aimed her wand at the door. She would blast the damn thing off its hinges if she had to. 

“Expelliarmus!” Her wand was whisked from her fingers, and she spun to face the sixth year prefect who had disarmed her in disbelief. 

“Leave off it, Hanson, or I'll deduct points.” Margo huffed in anger and walked back down the hall to reclaim her wand. 

“Fine.” She snapped. She stormed back to the common room and yanked the door open. She would find Quentin and figure out what the hell had gone wrong with him.

\-------------------------------

Quentin hid in the Hufflepuff common room feeling sorry for himself for about forty-five minutes before his stomach started to growl and he forced himself up off the plush yellow couch. He kept his hands in his pockets and his head down as he walked towards the Great Hall for dinner. Once Quentin got there, he found a seat near the middle of the Hufflepuff table. He dragged a couple of items onto his plate and picked at them. He didn't feel hungry and was about to push the plate away when someone dropped beside him. 

“Q!” Julia was practically brimming with bright enthusiasm. Alice sat down opposite them at about the same moment. A grin to rival Julia's was spread across her face. 

“Did you have fun today?” Alice asked. Quentin wished he could melt into a puddle, anything to escape the expectant smiles of the two Ravenclaw girls. He stabbed his fork listlessly against the side of a fingerling potato.

“I don't want to talk about it.” Their smiles dropped away, and they shared a confused glance. Julia's arm wrapped around his shoulder and Alice reached across the table to squeeze his hand. 

“Tell us what happened.” Alice prompted. 

“He didn't show up, Alice!” A momentary wave of hot anger and disappointment burned away the self-pity. “You just, you.” Quentin sniffed and rubbed at the corner of his eye. He was not going to melt down in the middle of the Great Hall where everyone could see. “You could have waited for fifteen minutes before taking off. I almost had a panic attack.” He felt Julia's hand rubbing his back, and he relaxed a little. Quentin supposed he was lucky he had so many friends in different houses who knew him well enough to calm him down. “At least El was kind enough to calm me down and wait with me. He spent all day trying to cheer me up. Who...” Quentin's voice faltered for a moment. “Who was I supposed to meet anyway?” 

“Well...” The faces of both girls were set in grim lines. Alice looked guilty. 

“I told you this was a bad idea!” Julia snipped before Alice could continue. “We should have just told them both, straight out.”

“Told us what?” Quentin asked. He glanced between Julia and Alice in confusion. “Who?” 

“You're date was supposed to BE Eliot,” Julia explained. “But you two have been best friends for so long that you're blind to how much you like each other. Alice and Margo were sure that if they set you up, it would finally click.”

“We saw you guys together earlier today, and you were both having fun so we thought it had worked.” Alice continued. She squeezed his hand. “I'm sorry I left you. I knew you were nervous, but I also thought Eliot would be there any minute, and he would calm you down again.” 

“Oh.” Quentin murmured softly. He didn't know how to process that information. Eliot was his best friend, and he'd been so sure for so long that he was completely out of the other boy's league. Eliot could charm anyone. The other boy could have anyone he wanted. Quentin rested his forehead against his arm and squeezed his eyes shut. He felt like an idiot.

\-----------------------------------------

Margo's heels clicked rhythmically against the castle's stone floors as she marched on a mission towards the Great Hall. Most of the students would still be at dinner, and that was her best chance to find Quentin. The Hufflepuff common room was notoriously impossible to enter if you weren't part of the house, so she knew she wouldn't have the chance to see him if she didn't catch him while he was eating.

Her gaze skated down the Hufflepuff table until she found him. Despite her best effort some of the anger melted away. She hated when the little high-strung super nerd of their unlikely friend group was miserable, and it seemed to be happening more often. Seeing the other boy with his head buried against his arms made her sigh in frustration. Margo walked down Alice's side of the table, and the quiet click of her shoes caught the blond's attention.

“So what went wrong?” Margo asked as she sat down with her back resting against the table edge. She crossed one leg over the other and stared expectantly at the Ravenclaw beside her. 

“Exactly what Julia said would go wrong,” Alice told her.

“I guess neither of them realized it was a date,” Julia added. She was busy rubbing soothing circles on Quentin's back. 

“Q, Sweetie, you know I love the two of you, but you're both clueless idiots,” Margo told him as she reached to brush her hand through the soft locks of his hair. Quentin didn't lift his head. She wasn't going to say anything about Eliot's latest tryst with Mike. “El has the biggest crush on you.” She assured him. “We'll get this straightened out. I'll go talk to him tonight, okay?” Quentin nodded and wiped the sleeve of his sweater against his eyes as he raised his head. 

“I' m going back to my room.” He told them as he stood. The three of them watched him disappear towards the Great Halls main doors.

“Well, this was a colossal cluster-fuck,” Margo muttered. 

“Is Eliot okay?” Alice asked. Margo pressed her lips into a thin line. The obvious answer was no. “He'll be okay once he understands that all this was just a misunderstanding.” She turned her attention to the food surrounding them before reaching for a clean plate and filling it. “What? We might as well eat.” She muttered. She wasn't going to be able to get into Mike's room if Mike or Eliot didn't want her to. The other girls didn't need to know there was a problem. The three of them ate together, and Margo walked back to her common room much more slowly than she had walked from it to the Great Hall. Mike was stretched out along the full length of one of the couches with his transfiguration book in his lap. Eliot was nowhere in sight. 

“Where's Eliot?” She demanded as she smacked the book out of his hand. 

“Sleeping off whatever happened this afternoon. El's pretty pissed at you, but he wouldn't tell me why.” Mike swung his legs off the couch and towered over her.

“It's none of your business!”

“He's part of my Quidditch team, so it's very much my business!” 

“Don't act for a second like that gives you any ownership over him!” Margo took a moment to notice that the common room had gone quiet and that everyone was trying to do their best to look like they were engaged in anything but eavesdropping. She slipped her wand from its holster and swallowed hard when she realized Mike had done the same. There was no way she'd beat the older wizard in a duel. 

“You're the one acting as if you own him.” Mike spat. 

“He's my best friend!” As much as she hated stepping away from a fight, Margo forced herself to lower her wand and do just that. “I just want to talk to him, so I can fix this before it gets out of hand. Today was just a misunderstanding.” Mike's arms crossed over his chest.

“Well he took some dreamless sleep, so he won't be awake again until morning. You'll have to wait till then.” Mike waved his wand at the book Margo had torn from his hands and sat back down once it had floated to him. 

“That dumbass,” Margo muttered. “Can you tell him I need to talk to him when he wakes up?” 

“I can, but I won't guarantee he'll listen.” Margo rolled her eyes. Eliot could be stubborn like that. She'd just have to set the alarm and make sure she beat him awake so she could talk to him before he left the common room in the morning. 

“Thank you.” Margo murmured before turning for her dorm. She walked back to her room and collected fresh clothes. Hopefully, a hot bath would help wash away how horrible the evening had been. The prefect's bathroom was empty when she reached it, and she opened several of the golden taps to let the small pool fill with warm water and bubbles. She stayed there for an hour, then walked back to the Slytherin dorm to lay down. 

The next morning she was up as early as she could manage. The door to Mike's dorm was closed, so she assumed neither he nor Eliot was awake yet. She waited through half of breakfast before finally tapping on the door and pushing it open. Her stomach dropped when she found the room empty. Margo checked Eliot's room just to be sure he hadn't gone to his bed and groaned in disbelief when she realized his broom and Quidditch gear were gone. She'd forgotten about the team's early Sunday morning practice. 

Margo yawned as she walked down to the Great Hall. As she walked to lamented how badly things were spiraling out of her control. She hated when she wasn't in control. As she neared the Great Hall the there were more and more students, so she did her best to look relaxed and unbothered. She was the Slytherin ice queen; nothing was supposed to phase her. One of the doors abruptly swung open as she got closer and Margo froze as Quentin swept out into the hall. Tears glittered in the corners of Quentin's eyes, and Margo made herself step into his path.

“Q?”

“Just leave me alone.” 

“No, Q, please listen.” 

“I get it! It was a joke, and all four of you were in on it. It would have been nice if you had told me last night, instead of building my hopes up.” 

“It wasn't a joke!” Margo insisted. 

“Then I guess it's just coincidence that Eliot and Mike are back together. All of you are assholes.” Quentin told her. He flicked his wand out with surprising quickness. “Colloshoo!” The hex left Margo's feet stuck to the floor, and Quentin hurried around her. It only took a moment to remember and murmur the counter-spell, and Margo ran after him. She followed him towards the kitchen hallway and reached it as he was sliding through the passage into his common room. 

Margo tried to repeat the combination of barrel taps that Quentin had used and yelped in disbelief as she was sprayed with vinegar when she failed. She shook the liquid off and wrinkled her nose at the smell. She tried a cleaning charm to get it off, but the smell seemed to linger, and she headed upstairs to the fifth floor and the prefect bathroom to get rid of it.

Her day didn't get much better from there. Breakfast was over by the time she had bathed and changed, and Eliot didn't return to the common room after he'd eaten. Mike wasn't around either, so she assumed wherever they had gone they had gone together. Frustration burned Margo's nerves to a short fuse, and she parked herself on one of the couches in the Slytherin common room with her books for the next day's classes. Neither boy showed up for lunch, and by dinner, Margo was so angry that she didn't even want to try and talk to Eliot anymore. 

\------------------------------

Eliot balanced his broom against one shoulder and held onto the strap of his book bag with his other hand as Mike got their common room door open, then followed the older boy inside. He saw Margo immediately and quietly groaned. He wasn't sure how giving her an earful had turned into avoiding her for almost two days. She sensed his gaze on her because she looked up. For a moment Eliot fought with himself. A part of him wanted to turn away, but things weren't going to get better on their own, so he walked over. He rested his broom against the edge of the short coffee table and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Mike said you wanted to talk to me.” 

“I did, this morning.” Eliot hated the flat icy tone of her voice. “But it doesn't matter now, so whatever.” Margo turned back to to the potions essay she was finishing. There were a lot of things Eliot wanted to say, but he wasn't about to start yelling at her in the packed common room. 

“Can we go back to my dorm and talk?” He suggested. 

“If you wanted to talk to me, you should have done it last night, or this morning or I don't know anytime before now.” Eliot rolled his eyes in frustration. 

“Bambi you're ridiculous.” 

“Ridiculous? I tried to do something nice for you, Eliot! It's not my fault it didn't go right.” Eliot could feel everyone's eyes on them, and he hated it. He was all for being the center of attention on his terms, but when he was fighting with Margo, he preferred privacy. 

“I'm not doing this where everyone can watch.” He told her as he reached for his broom and bag. He swung the bag onto his shoulder and walked back to his dorm, where everything got tossed in a pile. Eliot kicked his shoes off and lay down. Once he was laying down, he waved his hand at the emerald curtains surrounding the four poster bed. Shaded darkness closed around him, and he curled onto his side and into a ball. 

When Margo didn't follow him into the room and hadn't shown up fifteen minutes later Eliot's hand slipped under his pillow for the flask that was hidden there. He unscrewed the cap and tipped it against his mouth. The vibrant purple potion slid down his throat, and Eliot returned the bottle's cap. It took about three or four minutes before he started to feel drowsy. When Margo did finally come back, he was already asleep. 

Eliot woke up late the next morning to find the rest of his dorm mates already at breakfast. He took a shower and made it to the Great Hall with minutes to spare before the tables cleared. Eliot poured himself a cup of coffee, dragged a couple of sausages over pieces of toast and ate quickly. Before everything disappeared, he grabbed a scotch egg to finish on his way to his double potions class with Hufflepuff. He hadn't seen Quentin since Saturday evening and was eager to spend a couple of hours with a friend who wasn't furious at him

He was one of the last students to arrive, and he glanced towards the front of the class, towards the table he frequently shared with Quentin and stopped dead when he realized Quentin had already paired off with Gretchen, a girl from his house. Hurt twisted Eliot's stomach in knots. He and Quentin always shared a table when they had classes together. Someone had apparently clued Quentin in about their failed date, and now Quentin was pissed at him too, at least that was the only thing Eliot could think as he took a seat with another Slytherin near the back of the class. 

It was a disastrous lab. They were supposed to be mixing a strengthening solution, but nothing Eliot tried to do seemed to go right. His ingredient chops were either too chunky or too fine. He nearly added one spell component too soon, and he turned the heat too high. By the middle of class, he was letting his partner do most of the work, so their potion didn't explode or melt the side of the cauldron. They turned in a passable end product, and Eliot helped clean up in silence. He was first out the door when they were dismissed. 

He shared a table with Penny instead of Margo when they had transfiguration with the Gryffindors. During history of magic, he sat by himself and tried to ignore how Margo, Julia, and Alice whispered together all through class. When lunch rolled around, he wasn't hungry at all. Quentin staunchly ignoring him during the only class they had together that day was sticking with him. 

“El?” Eliot jerked his shoulder out of under Margo's hand when she sat down beside him on the bench. 

“I figured it out Saturday, that it was supposed to be a date.”

“Then why didn't you tell him?” Margo asked, and it was the first time she hadn't been cross with him since the evening before. 

“You didn't see him. He was so nervous and disappointed. I thought I'd make it worse.” Eliot grabbed his bag and stood. “So I did what I do best and royally fucked things up.” 

“El just talk to him.” 

“He made it clear he doesn't want that during potions. I'll see you in defense.” He murmured as he started to walk down the table. The short conversation seemed to fix some of what was wrong between him and Margo. During DADA the two of them paired against Penny and Kady as the four of them practiced shield charms. The rest of the day and evening passed in a blur. 

The same was true for most of Tuesday. As their afternoon Herbology class neared Eliot hoped he'd finally get a chance to talk to Quentin. The hope was dashed as soon as he arrived in the greenhouses. Quentin was working with Gretchen again, and Quentin seemed to be making an effort to avoid him at every turn. To Eliot, it felt like a soul crushing disappointment. He slipped out other greenhouses as soon as Professor Longbottom let them go and jogged towards the castle. The dorms were empty, and he dumped his books before crawling into bed. He finished what remained of his dreamless sleep, skipped his last class, missed dinner, that evening's Quidditch practice, and woke up at three in the morning. 

He was exhausted when he dropped into an empty chair in the potions classroom on Wednesday morning. The Slytherin he'd worked with on Monday refused to cooperate with him again, so he paired with a Hufflepuff. His motions were mechanical but efficient. He'd brought this newest misery on himself; he had to live with it. His and Quentin's afternoon Arithmancy class was worse than potions. Margo wasn't there to keep him company and the classroom was smaller because it was an elective instead of a required course. It was hard to maintain the distance between himself and his best friend when all he wanted to do was hug Quentin and apologize. 

Quentin skipped that evening's astronomy class, and he wasn't in their Thursday herbology class either. When he also skipped their Friday potions lab Eliot started to worry. He tried to talk to a couple of Quentin's classmates as potions was dismissed but none of them seemed eager to talk to him. 

Eliot ghosted through the rest of his Friday classes and met the rest of his Quidditch team for their practice. Mike was testing him by releasing ten snitches at once and timing how long it took him to track all of them down. He couldn't afford to be distracted when he was fifty feet in the air on a racing broom. 

Todd, the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, was waiting outside the field house following their practice. Eliot frowned at the sixth year student as Todd waved him down and walked towards the group. 

“Did you come to see how badly you're going to be beaten when we play you in two weeks?” Mike jeered as Todd got close. The rest of the team chuckled. 

“I just want to talk to Eliot,” Todd told him. Mike's gaze shifted between the two of them. He seemed to sense that there was something wrong because he waved the rest of the team towards the castle.

“Do you want me to take your broom back, El?” Mike had asked before he followed them. Eliot nodded and tossed it to him before turning his attention to Todd. 

“What do you want, Todd?” He asked once the group was out of earshot. 

“What the hell is wrong with Quentin?” Eliot's shoulders dropped. He raked a hand back through his wind swept curls. 

“We aren't really on the best terms right now.” He explained. 

“He's not going to class, Eliot. At all. He's skipped everything, even our Quidditch practices, since Wednesday night. I haven't seen him leave his room. I figured if anyone would know what was up you would.” Eliot felt like his stomach had dropped to his toes. He had assumed Quentin was only skipping the classes they shared.

“Well if he isn't leaving his room there isn't much I can do.” Eliot pointed out. “I'm not allowed in your common room.” He watched as Todd worried his lip between his teeth. 

“We had a house prefect meeting before I came to find you.” Todd finally told him. “I won't let you see how to access our common room, but I will hold the door for you if you check on him.”

“Done.” Eliot agreed. His hand shot out for Todd to shake. The other boy's hand wrapped around his own and Eliot had a feeling that if he fucked this up the whole Hufflepuff house would be out to get him. 

\---------------------------------

Quentin rested his cheek against the hardback cover of 'The Flying Forest' and pulled the patchwork quilt higher towards his chin. The rest of the books in the Fillory series were haphazardly piled on the table beside his bed. He sniffed miserably and stared blankly at the pile of book spines until the titles blurred. This week had been the lowest he'd been since he'd been diagnosed with clinical depression between his second and third year. 

He hated that he had let himself spiral this low, but he couldn't muster the energy to do anything about it. He felt exhausted, and he missed his friends, so-called-friends, he mentally corrected. Walking into the Great Hall on Monday morning and seeing Eliot back with Mike had devastated him. Quentin mentally berated himself for letting Margo, Alice, and Julia get his hopes up. He should have known that he had no chance of actually winning Eliot over. 

Quentin heard the circular dormitory door creak open and the copper light fixtures cast long shadows across the floor and walls before Quentin squeezed his eyes shut. It was probably Todd or one of his roommates checking on him again, or they had finally broken down and gotten Professor Longbottom.

“Q?” Eliot's voice shook with worry, and Quentin squeezed his eyes tighter as his heart raced in his chest. He wondered vaguely how the Slytherin had gotten into his house. A quiet sob shook Quentin's frame. “Q, please don't cry.” The mattress dipped as Eliot curled around him. 

“Go away, Eliot!” 

“No, no. Q, you're scaring me. I love you too much to leave you alone when you're this depressed, especially when it's my fault.” Eliot let him go long enough for his arms to find their way under the blankets, then Quentin found himself properly collected against Eliot's chest. “I should have told you I was your date on Saturday, but I thought you... I know you don't like me as more than anything but a friend, and you were so disappointed. I figured I would just make it worse when you found out the girls tried to set us up.”

“Margo told me we were blind to how much we liked each other,” Quentin whispered. His voice was hoarse. He wanted to go to sleep and let Eliot hold him. He'd missed him, and it had taken everything out of him to avoid Eliot during their classes together. “She said everything would be okay, and then Sunday morning you were at breakfast with Mike. I thought all four of you lied to me, and that it was a cruel prank.” 

“I do like you, and would never hurt you like that on purpose,” Eliot whispered fiercely. 

“I don't understand why Margo lied to me. She said she would talk to you.” Quentin told him. He curled his arms around Eliot's middle and buried his face against the other boy's chest. One of Eliot's hands combed into the unwashed locks of his hair and gently worked at the knots.

“I wasn't talking to her. I didn't let her explain what she and Alice had tried to do. She never got to talk to me like she wanted to.” Quentin made himself lift his head so he could look Eliot in the eye. 

“So you do like me? I, you've always liked me I guess... but you, I, do you actually want to date me, like me?” A combination of mirth and warmth filled Eliot's amber eyes. 

“Q, I've liked you, wanted to date you, since our second year here. I kept hoping you would figure out how I felt when we were in Hogsmeade, but you're my best friend. I couldn't risk telling you how I felt if it meant ruining our friendship.” 

“What about Mike?” Quentin asked softly

“I think Mike figured out that I liked you last year, and that was why we stopped dating. He still cares about me though, so when he saw I was upset, he stepped in when I didn't want to be alone.” Quentin sighed and snuggled closer against Eliot's chest. He wasn't exactly clear on how everything had gone wrong, and right now he was too tired to try to get clarification. All he needed to know was that Eliot liked him, in all the ways that counted. 

“I like you too.” He whispered quietly. “I have for months.” 

“Q.” Eliot sounded awed. Quentin sighed in relief as Eliot clutched him close like he was precious. He was exhausted. 

“Will you hold me for a little while?” Quentin asked. 

“As long as your housemates will let me stay,” Eliot told him. Quentin squirmed in the embrace to get more comfortable. Now that he was calming down he realized how gross he felt. 

“I need a shower.” He whined softly. 

“Let's stay like this for a little bit; then I'll show you the prefect bathroom up on the fifth floor. You'll love it.” 

“Is there a bathtub big enough for both of us?” Quentin asked. Feeling Eliot laugh under his cheek calmed him. 

“There's a small pool in that bathroom, it's big enough for two.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are LOVE!! Especially for this piece! 
> 
> If you see mistakes please point them and, and keep in mind that I haven't done a full edit yet.


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